PRO BASKETBALL

PRO BASKETBALL; Against Nets, Hardaway Answers His Doubters

By LARRY DORMAN,

Published: December 25, 1993

ORLANDO, Dec. 24—
Anfernee Hardaway heard the whispers, and they kept him awake nights. The whispers said, "mistake." They said, "Webber." They said that Hardaway, the 6-foot-7-inch guard from Memphis State, might not be all he had been advertised to be when the Orlando Magic gambled on him in June and traded Chris Webber to Golden State for Hardaway and three first-round draft picks.

Against the New Jersey Nets Thursday night, Hardaway answered the whispers with a shout. He played his best game as a professional, lighting up Orlando Arena with his quickness and grace.

It didn't matter who was trying to guard him, the Nets' Kevin Edwards or Johnny Newman. He beat them both. He was especially effective when the Nets tried to double-team Shaquille O'Neal, opening lanes for Hardaway's career-high 31 points. A Loss He Wouldn't Forget

"It was important to me to play well," said Hardaway, who had even heard a few scattered boos after his 9-point, 6-rebound, 2-assist showing in the Magic's home loss to the Lakers on Tuesday. "After the Lakers game, I really didn't feel like I played up to my capabilities. So I wanted to avenge myself for my teammates tonight because I felt I let them down."

After that Lakers game, Hardaway stayed up long into the night, analyzing the game tape, looking for clues. He decided that he had been a little bit too tentative, that he had been looking just to get the foul call. He went into the Nets' game with an aggression that was apparent from the opening tip. In the first quarter he had 17 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. He ended the game with season highs in points, offensive rebounds (7) and matched his bests in steals (4) and blocked shots (3).

So, this was the Penny Hardaway for whom the Magic paid $65 million over 13 years. This was a player for whom they risked the abuse of Orlando fans -- and they got plenty -- when they sent Webber off after tantalizing the locals by picking the big Michigan star and then swapping him.

On Thursday night, Hardaway scored on tip-ins, driving layups, dunks and jumpers. When Newman roughed him up a little bit, bumping chests with him and once accidentally slapping him in the face, Hardaway responded by elevating his game further. Then came a seminal moment, late in the game, with the Magic lead down to 7 points, 109-102.

That's when Hardaway made a critical defensive play. With Newman driving to the hoop, Hardaway established position and drew the charge. Rather than a Nets 3-point play that could have trimmed the lead to 4 points with 4 minutes 22 seconds left, the ball went to the Magic, they ran off 8 straight points and that was the game.

That didn't show up on the box score, but it was one of Hardaway's biggest contributions of the night. When you trace the maturation of Penny Hardaway from a rookie into a veteran, you might just trace it to the fourth quarter of the Nets' game, where he showed just how complete his game can be.

Hardaway might still be a little raw, but there probably aren't many people whispering "mistake" about him anymore. Not after Thursday night.